COMING UP: Host Lithia-Oregon Tech Classic – vs. UC Merced, Friday, 5:30 p.m.; vs. Cal Maritime, Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: All four games of the Lithia-Oregon Tech Classic will be streamed live on the Owls Sports Network with Mike Safford on the call. Friday's OIT-UC Merced game will be broadcast live on 92.5 KLAD-FM, with Saturday's OIT-Cal Maritime game carried on 104.3/960 Sports. Live Stats for all four games will be available through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2024-25 season will posted online via the OIT Women's Basketball Flickr Page, while highlight clips posted online via the OIT Women's Basketball YouTube Channel.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – UC MERCED: Tournament play opens against UC Merced, as the Bobcats (2-0) opened the season with wins over Nobel College and Life Pacific. Coming off an 11-16 season, UCM is averaging 74 points per game, making 43-percent of their field goals – connecting on eight 3-pointers per game. Forward Nicole Lukito (20.0 ppg, 15.5 rpg), the Cal Pac Freshman of the Year in 2023-24, has dominated the first two opponents, while guards Sarina Nagra (15.5 ppg, 5-of-11 3FG), Leilani Blecha (10.5 ppg) and Elise LeBeau (2.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 7.5 apg) are key to the Bobcats success. OIT holds a 6-3 all-time series lead against the future Division II school, with the squads splitting two games in Klamath.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – CAL MARITIME: Day 2 of the tournament features the Lady Owls facing Cal Maritime, as the Keelhaulers (1-2) are much improved following a tough 2-22 season in 2023-24. CMA forced 52 turnovers in a win over Bethesda, but dropped close decisions to OUAZ and UC Santa Cruz. The Bay Area team is averaging 77 points a game and forcing 35 turnovers a night, but opponents average 18-more rebounds than the Keelhaulers. Guards Aysia Santos (13.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Jameelah Pharms (12.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Tiare Novero-Paaga (12.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg), along with forward Jaz Novelli (15.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg) lead the attack. OIT holds a 16-1 all-time series lead, including a 7-1 mark in the Basin.
 
FOURTH TEAM: Southern Oregon makes the short trip over the hill for the tournament, as the No. 4-ranked Raiders (2-0) opened the season in Nebraska – picking up monster wins over Concordia and Dakota State, both Top-10 opponents. The defending CCC champions got big production from a pair of returners, as Emma Schmerbach – the older sister of OIT forward Tatum Schmerbach – averaged 16 points and five rebounds a game, with guard Meghan McIntyre averaging 12 points, six rebounds and six assists.
 
VERSUS THE CAL PAC: The Owls will play games against their rival conference to the south, as a dwindling California Pacific Conference will drop from their current eight teams down to four in 2025-26 (La Sierra and Soka leaving for the Great Southwest Athletic Conference, UC Merced headed to the NCAA Division II, Cal Maritime leaving the NAIA for an undisclosed location). Tech is 102-30 all-time against Cal Pac teams and 68-9 against the current basketball playing schools - including a 29-5 mark vs. Simpson and a 16-0 record vs. Pacific Union. Next year, Simpson, Pacific Union, Westcliff will make up the basketball schools in the league (with Providence Christian, which doesn't sponsor the sport, as the fourth school).
 
LITHIA CLASSIC RETURNS: For the eighth-straight year, the Lady Owls have partnered with Lithia Motors to host an event in Klamath Falls. OIT hosted the Lithia Classic from 2017-19 and were to host the event in 2020 before the season was shifted to the spring, with the tournament returning each of the past three seasons.
 
HISTORY OF THE CLASSIC: 2024 marks the 16th straight year Tech has hosted a preseason women's basketball tournament – as in 2009 and 2010, the squad hosted the OIT Classic; from 2011-16, the Owls hosted the Midland Empire Classic; before Lithia picked up the title sponsorship in 2017. Both OIT and Southern Oregon have played in each of the previous events – SOU going 24-1 in tournament play, with OIT recording a 22-3 record. Teams making multiple appearances include Jessup (eight trips, 0-16 in tournament games), Cal Maritime (6 trips, 0-12 in tournament games) and Simpson (5 trips, 1-9 in tournament games). Last year, OIT and SOU swept George Fox.
 
TOUGH TRIP TO IOWA: The Owls stepped up to play top Great Plains Athletic Conference teams – with Tech playing both Northwestern and Dordt tough for three quarters – before tough fourth quarters led to double-digit losses. OIT trailed just 36-33 at half against Dordt and were within single-digit deficits in the fourth quarter of both games – but could not overcome a combined 3-of-25 3-point shooting and a negative-16 rebound margin. Defensively, the Owls clogged the passing lanes, forcing 23 turnovers a game.
 
GASCON STARTS FAST: Leading the Tech attack in the Midwest was guard Gabbie Gascon, the lone OIT player to record back-to-back double-digit scoring games. The junior opened the trip with 20 points at Northwestern, following it with a 14-point effort at Dordt – getting to the free throw line a combined 18 times. Gascon was key defensively on opening night, recording a career-high eight steals – becoming the fifth player in program history to record 8-or-more steals in a game.
 
BACK ON THE BLOCK: After a year away from the game, grad student Maddyson Tull made her triumphant return to the hardwood in Iowa. Tull was instrumental against Northwestern, converting 7-of-11 field goals, scoring 14 points with five rebounds in 20 minutes of action.
 
SOPHOMORES KEY: The three sophomores in the Lady Owls rotation played meaningful minutes during the opening weekend. Forward Tatum Schmerbach was consistent, averaging nine points and six rebounds in the two games, while guard Kendall Fealey averaged 5.5 points per game and ranked second on the team with five steals. Jozie Ramos earned the start on the block in both games, averaging 10 points, five rebounds and four assists a game – including a 14-point performance at Dordt.
 
FRESHMAN DEBUTS: The two games in Iowa saw the debut of true freshman guard Brooke Anderson, as the first-year OIT player averaged 13 minutes per game on the trip. Anderson made 2-of-4 field goal attempts, averaging two points and a rebound in the contests.
 
UPDATE ON SPRAGUE: Guard Olivia Sprague was injured during OIT's season opener at Northwestern – with the injury occurring on the Lady Owls first offensive position. The two-time All-America released a statement last week, remarking – "On Friday I injured my knee and was unable to return. I'm currently waiting on some answers and in the meantime my focus is on supporting my team and our mission this season." Prior to the Nov. 2 game at Dordt, Sprague had started 65-straight games, dating back to the 2021-22 season.
 
TECH FALLS OUT OF TOP-25: With their 0-2 start to the season, the Lady Owls fell out of the NAIA Top-25 poll, receiving 74 voter points from the 20 national raters – ranked fifth among teams receiving votes. Southern Oregon climbed to No. 4 in the poll, LC State jumped to No. 22, with three non-conference opponents' in the ranking – No. 1 Dordt, No. 15 Arizona Christian and No. 21 Northwestern.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE: It wasn't a great week for the Cascade Conference, outside of Lewis-Clark State traveling to Arizona to pick up road wins at Park-Gilbert and Embry-Riddle. Both Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho defeated Hope International (as did Bushnell), but lost games to Rocky Mountain, with Corban defeating Simpson and losing to Arizona Christian, while Northwest was swept by the two squads. This weekend, EOU and LC State will face Puget Sound and Carroll in Lewiston, Corban faces D-II teams in Alaska Fairbanks and Western Oregon in Alaska, both Bushnell and Multnomah face Rocky Mountain, with Warner Pacific traveling to Pacific Union and Simpson.
 
RECORD BOOK: Seven Lady Owls open the season ranked among the Top-50 in the OIT record book, led by Olivia Sprague, who is No. 2 in field goal attempts (1,133), No. 3 in field goals made (478) and steals (179), No. 4 in points scored (1,344) and 3-pointers made (165). No. 5 in 3-point attempts (427), No. 7 in free throws made (223), No. 8 in assists (306), No. 13 in free throw attempts (274), No. 16 in blocked shots (40), No. 18 in games started (76), ranking No. 19 in rebounds (459) and No. 32 in games played (90). Maddyson Tull is No. 7 in field goals made (459) and free throw attempts (289), No. 9 in points scored (1,104), No. 13 in rebounds (520), No. 15 in field goal attempts (859), No. 17 in blocked shots (38), No. 18 in free throws made (179), No. 26 in games played (99) and No. 50 in assists (94); Kennedy Tull ranks No. 25 in free throws made (167), No. 28 in free throws attempts (221), No. 30 in 3-pointers made (44), No. 33 in 3-point attempts (135), No. 34 in games played (86), No. 43 in assists (114), No. 44 in points scored (571), ranking No. 47 in field goals made (180) and No. 50 in field goal attempts (426); Gabbie Gascon is No. 19 in assists (192) and free throws made (178), No. 21 in steals (103), No. 23 in 3-pointers made (62), No. 24 in 3-point attempts (192), No. 30 in free throw attempts (209), No. 40 in points scored (606), No. 45 in field goals made (183), ranking No. 49 in field goal attempts (446); Alexis Elquist is No. 23 in blocked shots (34), No. 37 in rebounds (336), No. 45 in 3-point attempts (61) and No. 49 in 3-pointers made (15); with Jozie Ramos No. 20 in blocked shots (35) and Tatum Schmerbach No. 48 in blocked shots (15).
 
SUCCESS AT DANNY MILES COURT: Danny Miles Court has been a difficult place for opponents since Tech brought women's basketball back as a varsity sport in 2002. Over the past 22 seasons, the Lady Owls have won 76-percent of their home dates – posting a stellar 248-78 overall record, ending the 2023-24 with a 12-2 home mark. The 2012-13 squad finished the year with a 15-1 mark, while a season later, the Owls had a 16-2 record – at one point winning 19-consecutive home games. Every season since women's basketball returned to Tech in 2002-23, the Owls have had a winning record every season on their home floor.
 
SCORING 90, ALLOWING UNDER 50 EQUAL WINS: OIT has scored 90-or-more points in a game 37 times, posting a 34-3 record in the high-scoring contests. The Lady Owls are riding a 93-game win streak when allowing fewer than 50 points in a game, recording a 167-8 record in such games (last loss occurred in 2012, a 42-40 setback at Eastern Oregon).
 
UP NEXT: The Lady Owls close out non-league action next week, traveling to Arizona for games at Park-Gilbert (Nov. 20) and Arizona Christian (Nov. 23).